Late Goal Delivers France a 1-1 Tie against Brazil in Second Round of 2011 Nike International Friendlies

NewsDec 2, 2011

Abner’s Nifty Early Goal for Brazil Equaled by Neal Maupay from France

LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. (Dec. 2, 2011)—France and Brazil dueled to 1-1 tie in a thrilling encounter on the second day of Nike International Friendlies at the Premier Sports Campus. France tied the game with a Neal Maupay equalizer after Abner opened scoring in the 20th minute.

With the draw, Brazil has four points heading into the final matchday when they will face the United States on Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. ET. Fox Soccer will broadcast the match live, and fans can follow on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and Twitter @ussoccer_ynt.

Brazil started the match off strong, Joanderson taking his first shot in the fourth minute. The speedy forward had several looks at goal in the opening 15 minutes, at one point forcing a fine save from France goalkeeper Florian Escales.

The opening goal came in the 20th minute after Abner weaved through France’s midfield and passed to Gabriel, who chipped the ball over the French backline and back to Abner. From there he made no mistake, sending a low shot into the near corner of the goal.

France picked up the pace, and for the remainder of the first half they created all the chances. In the 33rd minute, Victor Mayard dribbled straight into Brazil’s area and fired a rocket that was blocked by a defender. A few minutes later Moussa Dembele tried his luck with a similar result.

Brazil began the second half with their foot on the pedal, getting off two shots in the first ten minutes. Soon after France snatched the momentum and took control of the game following a triple substitution as they brought on Michel Araai – who scored against the United States - Kingsley Coman and goalscorer Neal Maupay.

Araai and Maupay did a great job connecting up front on several occasions to threaten the Brazil defense, and their efforts finally paid off in the 78th minute. Maupay scored unassisted, rolling the ball under Guilherme and into the far corner of the net after getting behind the entire back line.

Maupay had another close chance in the 90th minute, forcing Guilherme’s only save of the match. Jules Ntcham also tested the goal in stoppage time, but his shot rocketed over the crossbar.

The decisive matches of the Nike International Friendlies will be Sunday, Dec. 4 at the Premier Sports Campus. Turkey and France will meet at 2 p.m. ET, followed by the U.S. taking on Brazil at 5 p.m.